New Delhi, May 27: A new video of top operational commander of the banned Al-Badr terror outfit Hamza Burhan, reportedly recorded days before he was shot dead by unknown attackers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), shows him holding an AK-47 assault rifle. Security agency sources said Pulwama attack mastermind Hamza, also known as Arjamand Gulzar and “Doctor”, always carried weapons with him because he feared being targeted.
The new video, wherein Hamza can be seen hugging another man with the AK-47 in his right hand, also raised serious questions about Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI and the terrorist networks operating there.
Pulwama Resident To “Most Wanted”
Hamza, originally a resident of Ratnipora area in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, had been involved in anti-India terrorist activities for a long time and was considered key in radicalising people in South Kashmir.
Hamza is believed to have been part of the “digital radicalisation” model, wherein social media platforms and local networks were leveraged to incite young people to take up arms.
He reportedly travelled to Pakistan around seven years ago using valid travel documents and joined Al Badr. He rose through the ranks to become an operational commander and managed a network responsible for the recruitment of terrorists, funding, and the supply of weapons within Jammu and Kashmir. He also gave operational directives to local Over Ground Workers (OGWs).
His name was found to be linked to numerous cases involving the recovery of explosives, grenade attacks, and terrorist recruitment drives.
Hamza’s name came up in connection with the February 2019 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a grenade attack on a convoy.
Indian security agencies had long listed him on their “Most Wanted” list. In 2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India officially designated him as a terrorist under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
While in PoK, Hamza allegedly worked under the guise of a principal at a school or college, where he actively engaged in spreading radical and anti-India idelogies among the younger population, per intelligence sources.
Funeral Widely Attended By Top Terrorists
On May 21, Hamza was shot dead in PoK’s Muzaffarabad whem he stepped out of the college premises. Bullets fired from a close range hit him mutiple times in the head. His funeral the next day in Islamabad was attended by several heavily-armed Pakistan-based wanted terrorists, including Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and Al-Badr supremo Bakht Zameen Khan. AK-47 rifles and other sophisticated weapons were carried around by several attendees.
Got What He Deserved, Says Father
Hamza’ father Gulzar Ahmed Dar said his son got what he deserved for treading the wrong path, but the family should not be persecuted. He said his other son Shahid Gulzar, who was arrested in 2022 and is lodged in Jammu jail, should not be punished for his brother’s deeds and should be released.
“Arjumand went to Pakistan on January 28, 2018 to pursue MBBS. He left on his own without consulting me. Before that, he was studying at Rajiv Gandhi University, Bangalore in 2017. After completing his first semester there, he returned home in December and left again in January,” Dar said.
He said around 13 days after that, the family came to know that Arjumand had gone to Pakistan. “As soon as we came to know about it, we informed the police and other agencies that our son had gone to Pakistan without consulting us. We told him (Arjumand) that he had a one-month visa and should come back. But after a month, he submitted his student visa and said he was pursuing MBBS in Pakistan,” the father said.
Dar said the family handed over those documents to police and agencies, “but unfortunately, two months later, we discovered that he had taken the wrong path”. “He cut off contact with us, and we haven’t had any connection with him since,” the father said.
His other son Arif, Dar said, who holds a PhD and has also qualified the NET, was supposed to go to Russia for research purposes, but his passport has been confiscated.(NDTV)
